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Main » Articles » Mono Red at the Standard RPTQ

Mono Red at the Standard RPTQ

Kyle Boggemes
Posted on August 24, 2017
 Reddit

Hey everyone!

I have been practicing Standard lately to prepare for the RPTQ for Ixalan. After trying many decks I realized there is no best deck in Standard, but rather a true rock-paper-scissors metagame. Today I want to talk about what decks I tested and why they were ultimately abandoned. Then I’ll break down each of my matches and how I sideboarded with Ramunap Red.

Let’s get to it!

Zombies

I typically try and learn public enemy number one even if I don’t believe I’ll ultimately settle for it. This is because the decks that scare me will ultimately be the next big thing in order to fight the perceived strongest strategy.

Mono-Black Zombies ? Hour of Devastation Standard | Kyle Boggemes

Zombies has a passable matchup against Ramunap Red and is strong against bg Constrictor because Dark Salvation and a quick clock can be deadly. It can also flood the battlefield with Liliana's Mastery which adds some resiliency against sweepers. Black aggressive decks shine when Ramunap Red becomes the deck to beat.

The Black horde of creatures are not without fault. I had a miserable time against Standard’s slew of combo decks such as Liliana Reanimator, God-Pharaoh's Gift, and rg Ramp. Zombies trades speed for resiliency, but these combo decks are good at going over the top so I didn’t think Mono-Black was going to be the deck to beat going forward.

B/G Constrictor

Given that I expected some of the unfair decks to emerge, since their good matchup against Zombies, I turned to a Black deck with a faster clock. Speed is not free because bg Constrictor can have a tough time against heavy removal strategies. The sum of the parts that involve Winding Constrictor are greater than one, but they can be weaker as standalone threats.

B/G Constrictor ? Hour of Devastation | Kyle Boggemes

Catacomb Sifter
bg struggles against Zombies, but Catacomb Sifter will ensure a passable matchup against Ramunap Red. Despite my personal feelings about Zombies being on the downswing it’s still a good deck and I will expect to face it at the RPTQ.

The synergy between the bg Constrictor creatures is less risky assuming there are more combo opponents because they won’t interact as much. I added a fourth Verdurous Gearhulk to the maindeck as a hedge against flooding out and to improve my Zombies matchup. Brad Nelson and Corey Baumeister crushed Grand Prix Minneapolis and they didn’t suggest making any sweeping changes, so neither did I.

Doomfall in the sideboard is a hedge against the combo decks because I can’t pinpoint which ones will be popular and Coercion effects take any card. I can also exile Ulamog or Torrential Gearhulk so it’s more well-rounded than Dispossess and Lost Legacy.

I ultimately abandoned bg Constrictor because while it has a better matchup against combo decks than Zombies it’s not enough. In order to go far in an RPTQ I need to be spot-on in my metagame prediction. Go big or go home is my motto for this Standard format. A few of my friends already won their RPTQs and it was with all-in decks that managed to dodge their bad matchups. I’m more comfortable being in the middle of the road, but I need to do something powerful.

Mardu Vehicles

As you can see I change my mind a lot before a Constructed event. Standard doesn’t care about what you like to play. I would say, to win a Modern tournament, to play what you love, but there is often a correct choice each week in Standard. Brad Nelson is considered by just about everyone to be the best Standard player on the planet, but you never know what he will bring to the Table.

Black aggressive decks didn’t do it for me so I entertained this list of Mardu:

Mardu Vehicles ? Hour of Devastation Standard | Kyle Boggemes

Veteran Motorist
Walking Ballista is too slow so that was quickly dismissed for Veteran Motorist. The upside of Ballista is that it’s great against Ramunap Red and that can’t ever be better than a close matchup.

Why Veteran Motorist? He’s a good kid and a devil behind the wheel; what else do you need to know? He’s also not slow and helps scry to the necessary lands to cast Gideon on turn four. Crewing Heart of Kiran to a 5/5 is great in a world of Grasp of Darkness. Another weakness of Zombies is that Dark Salvation is a sorcery making vehicles matchup well. Zombies often plays Murder in their sideboard to beat Skysovereign, Consul Flagship.

Archangel Avacyn was a bit too slow for me so Glorybringer gets the nod. I originally wanted Avacyn as a way to be sneaky and block against Ramunap Red, but the game was often already decided by the time she entered the battlefield in Game 1.

Nahiri, the Harbinger was surprisingly good against Ramunap Red because she exiles Hazoret the Fervent. I tried her in the maindeck, but when the opponent is on defense it’s hard to capitalize.

I hate Fumigate in the sideboard, but I felt Temur Energy might make a comeback and Bristling Hydra was a concern for me. The Hydra is good against control and Ramunap Red.

The various combo decks were still beating me with Mardu Vehicles so I didn’t feel comfortable piloting it. Standard felt overwhelming to me because I couldn’t prepare for everything and most decks were powerful in a very specific direction. It feels like Modern given the large pool of cards available. This happens every Summer given the rotation schedule. Perhaps WOTC should take note of this and create a rotation that makes every Standard this big all of the time.

Ramunap Red

It has all come to this . . . 

I typically despise playing Red decks, but I have some room in the sideboard to make it my own.

Here’s what I registered for the RPTQ:

Ramunap Red ? Hour of Devastation Standard | Kyle Boggemes

Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Despite Red being out of my wheelhouse, I decided to play it. This is because every deck that was scaring me with Black aggro would have been a good matchup if I just sucked it up and played Mountains.

Since bgConstrictor and most combo decks don’t care about Shock I shaved down to two. Collective Defiance has been great as another curve-topper, so I still had the removal suite full. Abrade is good, but I wanted more Incendiary Flows to go to the face in case my opponent didn’t care too much about their creatures. The exiling effect can also be very relevant against Zombies and graveyard-based decks.

Sandstalker is all right, but Chandra, Torch of Defiance is the strongest 4-drop, so I wanted the full amount. I played Sweltering Suns in place of Sandstalker because I didn’t want even more 4-drops. Once you transform into a midrange deck there is too much to do with your mana and not drawing enough lands is a real concern.

If the metagame devolves into Black aggro < Combo < Mono-Red < Black aggro, then I want to be part of the pillar that has a close matchup against the strategies designed to prey on me. If I have a bunch of cheap and powerful threats, my bad matchups won’t be worse than 40%.

There were 136 players in the RPTQ which means eight rounds. Here’s a summary of my matchups and my sideboarding:

Round 1: uw Approach

Game 1: I mulligan a slow hand and then win on turn five with an absurd start.

Sideboard in: 2 Pia Nalaar

Sideboard out: 2 Abrade

Game 2: I win again on turn five. Chandra gets countered on turn four then Hazoret wins when he taps out for glimmer on his main phase.

Round 2: br midrange

Game 1: I won the die roll and had a fast start. His start was also good with Gifted Aetherborn into Sweltering Suns. I decided to get ahead on board with Ahn-Crop Crasher instead of killing the Gifted Aetherborn, so I overextended. He didn’t draw Glorybringer so there wasn’t a fast clock and I eventually drew enough haste creatures like Earthshaker Kenra to close the game. Draw-go games favor Ramunap Red.

Sideboard in: 2 Glorybringer, 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 1 Scavenger Grounds

Sideboard out: 2 Shock 2 Abrade 1 Hazoret the Fervent.

Game 2: He has strong start with Gifted Aetherborn into Doomfall to take my removal spell for it. I have to fight through two Liliana, the Last Hopes, but Ahn-Crop Crasher matches up well against her.

Round 3: Zombies

Game 1: I keep a slow hand with lands and high drops and get punished. It relied on casting Chandra and Hazoret, but Zombies has enough ways to answer those threats. I think it’s a fine keep in the dark, but looked silly once I found out the matchup.

Sideboard in: 4 Glorybringer 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Pia Nalaar, 1 Scavenger Grounds, 2 Sweltering Suns, 2 Magma Spray, 1 Abrade

Sideboard out: 2 Soul-Scar Mage, 4 Bomat Courier, 4 Falkenrath Gorger, 2 Ahn-Crop Crasher, 2 Hazoret the Fervent

Game 2: I have a good Red midrange hand that wins on a couple of key exchanges such as Glorybringer exerting on Kalitas. Keep in mind that Zombies is also transforming into a midrange deck. The name of the game is for your cheap threats to eat a Grasp of Darkness because then Glorybringer is more likely to survive. Sweltering Suns is key against Liliana's Mastery and Dark Salvation.

Game 3: I was on the draw and we exchanged resources early. A turn five and six Liliana's Mastery made things very difficult as I didn’t have the mana to cast Glorybringer immediately.

Round 4: rgRamp

Game 1: My hand doesn’t have a lot of creatures, but it has interaction. It turns out Abrade isn’t great against Eldrazi and I drew them both. This ends up being all right as my opponent doesn’t draw anything of importance. It felt like I stole that game as my hand was bad for the matchup.

Sideboard in: 2 Pia Nalaar, 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 1 Scavenging Grounds

Sideboard out: 2 Abrade, 2 Collective Defiance

Not a ton to board in this matchup, but Chandra is a good threat that warrants Hour of Devastation. I care more about not drawing my fourth land more than flooding out because Ulamog is what will kill me. A smooth amount of lands should win me the game because it’s a favorable matchup.

Game 2: My hand isn’t great again and I miss my fourth land for Hazoret for a while. Ramp boards into a bunch of interaction and he didn’t draw Ulamog. The game went on for a while and Hazoret eventually closed out the game.

Round 5: bg Constrictor

Game 1: I had a strong draw on the play and won through Sylvan Advocate into Catacomb Sifter.

Sideboard in: 4 Glorybringer, 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Abrade, 2 Pia Nalaar, 2 Sweltering Suns, 1 Scavenger Grounds

Sideboard out: 4 Falkenrath Gorger, 4 Bomat Courier, 2 Soul-Scar Mage, 2 Shock, 1 Hazoret the Fervent

Game 2: I’m on the draw and have a strong midrange hand that involves cleaning up the early threats with Sweltering Suns and then slamming Chandras and Glorybringers.

Round 6: Temur Energy

Game 1: I kept a 1-land hand with Bomat Courier and Falkenrath Gorger and many 2-drops, but missed on the second land for many turns. There are 24 lands in the deck so I don’t feel too bad about keeping because I had two turns to hit.

Sideboard: No sideboard because I’m on the play and being control against Bristling Hydra doesn’t seem appealing. Hazoret is also tough for them to deal with so I want a lean curve.

Game 2: I kept a land-heavy hand, but had Hazoret on turn four so it was close. Whirler Virtuoso and a bunch of energy creatures was enough to keep him alive just long enough. He ended the game at 1 life with Hazoret in play. I was afraid of Confiscation Coup on my Hazoret.

Round 7: Temur Energy

Game 1: I had a great start and the opponent stumbled.

Sideboard in: 1 Scavenger Grounds, 2 Abrade, 2 Sweltering Suns, 4 Glorybringer, 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Pia Nalaar

Sideboard out: 1 Hazoret the Fervent, 4 Falkenrath Gorger, 2 Soul-Scar Mage, 4 Bomat Courier, 2 Ahn-Crop Crasher

Game 2: I faced three Whirler Virtuoso and Sweltering Suns was very important. Longtusk Cub posed a problem because the extra energy made it as large as a 5/5. This feels like a very tough matchup when you’re on the draw because being pure control can go poorly if they resolve Bristling Hydra.

Sideboard for Game 3:

In: 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 2 Sweltering Suns, 1 Scavenger Grounds, 2 Pia Nalaar

Out: 2 Falkenrath Gorger, 2 Abrade, 2 Shock

Game 3: I had a very aggressive start with my remaining eight 1-drops and the opponent stumbled. Even the scariest of matchups can work out when you’re aggressive. I think Sweltering Suns is still good on the play despite it not working well with early aggression.

There aren’t any intentional draws on Magic Online which means 6-2 with good tie breaks is much better than in a paper event. The Top 8 will qualify for the Pro Tour so I’m still live.

Round 8: Zombies

Game 1: I lose the die roll, but have a good hand. It involves curving out and ending on a Hazoret and Chandra. There were some creatures that managed to survive early such as Ahn-Crop Crasher which meant Hazoret would be safe from Grasp of Darkness. The next objective of protecting Hazoret is to keep the number of zombies in play to one. This means a Dark Salvation where x=2 wouldn’t take her down.

Apparently casting Diregraf Colossus is bugged on Magic Online, so when I start to abyss my opponent with Hazoret there is a crash. I’m informed we need to begin the game again with me on the draw which puts me at a big disadvantage. I feel ok about the sideboarded games, but running back a Game 1 win on the draw will be challenging.

Game 1 act 2: I have a reasonable hand, but I lose to standard Zombies fare. I’m pretty irritated this happened because this can be a close matchup, but I now need to win both sideboarded games to have a shot at qualifying for the Pro Tour.

Sideboard in: 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, 4 Glorybringer, 2 Sweltering Suns, 1 Scavenger Grounds, 2 Pia Nalaar, 2 Magma Spray

Sideboard out: 1 Shock, 4 Bomat Courier, 4 Falkenrath Gorger, 2 Soul-Scar Mage, 2 Hazoret the Fervent

Game 2: I’m able to go big thanks to eternalizing Earthshaker Kenra and cast Glorybringer and Chandra. The post-board matchup plays out much differently where the primary threat for me is Liliana's Mastery. It can blank spells such as Shock and Magma Spray in the mid-game and creates two threats. Sweltering Suns was crucial at sweeping the multiple threats from 5-drops.

Game 3: This is another midrange slug fest with me on the play. I’m able to navigate into a situation where Chandra enters a clear battlefield. It feels like a common line will involve casting Chandra on turn five and making two Red mana to play Sweltering Suns. This game ends with me having Chandra, Glorybringer, and Hazoret in play.

After defeating Zombies 3 out of 4 games last round I finish in 16th place with 7th and 8th place ending with a 6-2 record, too. I had fun playing the RPTQ on Magic Online because it’s less draining than playing in a remote location and would recommend trying it out.

Going forward I would recommend the same maindeck, but play the following sideboard:

Ramunap Red Sideboard ? Hour of Devastation Standard | Kyle Boggemes

I was very impressed with Sweltering Suns against Black and Green aggressive decks and want a third. It helps drag the game out to utilize your transformational sideboard. Using the same logic I want my fourth Chandra to be the Flamecaller. It’s a fourth way to sweep up messy threats that are typically strong against Ramunap Red.

I feel very good about Ramunap Red moving forward and it can only be so bad in Standard at any point. There were many hateful cards cast against me and it wasn’t enough most of the time. Make sure to practice the Temur Energy matchup ahead of time as it will be very popular in the short run.

Go out and smash some foes!

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

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TAGS articles, strategy, metagame, constructed, analysis, standard, decklist, kyle boggemes, hour of devastation standard, 08242017

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